A royal decree has assigned 21 officials to Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy president Kem Sokha to advise and assist him in his role as National Assembly vice president.

Among those given positions are 14 personal advisers – of which two will rank as ministers and 12 as secretaries of state – while seven will be assigned as personal assistants.

Those named as personal advisors include Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community president Thach Setha and CNRP lawyer Choung Choungy.

Choungy said: “I’m still a lawyer to CNRP. My role as an advisor will include local politics, civil society relations and election affairs .&#8201;.&#8201;. We receive salary but I don’t how much I would get from this title.”

The royal decree appointing the officials – signed by acting head of state Chea Sim - came into effect on September 8.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said he could not understand why Sokha needed 21 advisers.

He said that the CNRP and the National Assembly commission heads had a greater need for policy advice, adding that the appointments looked like patronage.

“This seems very similar to the way the [Cambodian People’s Party] operates,” he said. “I’m not very happy seeing the way politics are being played out now.”

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said because the advisers were appointed to the vice president personally they were not a matter for the party and he could not comment.

“Every country in the world fights corruption in certain sectors, but not every country is one of the 20 most corrupt in the world,” Wan-Hea Lee (UNOHCHR),

As recently as last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that some of the blame for corruption lay with the businesses that paid the bribes, but TI executive director Preap Kol also called such deflections counter-productive.

“If we get a diagnosis, and say, ‘No, I don’t have that disease,’ it isn’t helpful”.

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday compared Cambodia’s deadly government crackdowns favourably with attempts in the United States to quell days of unrest following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education, Hun Sen said the crackdown on demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri – where police officer Darren Wilson shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9 – has not been met with the same criticism levelled at his forces when they move in to contain protests.

In Ferguson, “demonstrators just throw bottles of water [on the authorities] and they are arrested immediately, but America says nothing”, he said. Whereas “in our country, [demonstrators] burned cars, threw stones and shot with slingshots when we tried to control the situation, and they said that we abused human rights”.

Multiple clashes between demonstrators in Ferguson and police from local and state law enforcement occurred in the aftermath of the shooting earlier this month. Responding to the protests and instances of live gunfire, looting and rioting, a curfew was put in place, and the governor called in the National Guard. Dozens of people, including journalists, have been arrested since the shooting.

Contrary to the premier’s claim of imbalance, the heavy-handed actions have drawn international rebuke and comparisons with abuses committed during the civil rights movement in the US.

Hun Sen yesterday went on to compare the eight-month lockdown of Freedom Park, Phnom Penh’s designated protest space, with the curfew imposed on Ferguson after the governor declared a state of emergency.

The premier reasoned that Freedom Park is just a small area that was closed temporarily because of unrest, while in Ferguson an entire town was put into lockdown between midnight and 5am.

While government investigations into the fatal violence of early January – when government forces opened fire at striking garment workers, killing at least five – and other clashes had been cited repeatedly as the reason for the park’s closure, results of any probe have remained elusive since the razor wire came down.

Meach Sovannara, a Cambodia National Rescue Party member and Cambodian-American citizen, told the Post that Hun Sen was lying to the country and making unfair comparisons.

“He told [his] citizens a lie. Speaking of the law, in America, people are given rights to hold demonstrations.” Sovannara said.

Ou Virak, chairman of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said he agreed that the US government is “no angel”, but said this does not justify the actions of Hun Sen’s forces.

“The US needs to clean up its act too, [but] that doesn’t mean that the crackdowns here were OK,” he said.

The United States has “never claimed to be perfect” in terms of upholding human rights and Prime Minister Hun Sen has every right to offer criticisms of the country, one of the superpower’s top Asia diplomats said yesterday.

Speaking with the Post as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Cambodia before departing for Vietnam, Scot Marciel, the US State Department’s principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, responded to comments from Hun Sen last week that accused the US of double standards in relation to its handling of recent racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday compared Cambodia’s deadly government crackdowns favourably with attempts in the United States to quell days of unrest following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education, Hun Sen said the crackdown on demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri – where police officer Darren Wilson shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9 – has not been met with the same criticism levelled at his forces when they move in to contain protests.

In Ferguson, “demonstrators just throw bottles of water [on the authorities] and they are arrested immediately, but America says nothing”, he said. Whereas “in our country, [demonstrators] burned cars, threw stones and shot with slingshots when we tried to control the situation, and they said that we abused human rights”.

Multiple clashes between demonstrators in Ferguson and police from local and state law enforcement occurred in the aftermath of the shooting earlier this month. Responding to the protests and instances of live gunfire, looting and rioting, a curfew was put in place, and the governor called in the National Guard. Dozens of people, including journalists, have been arrested since the shooting.

Contrary to the premier’s claim of imbalance, the heavy-handed actions have drawn international rebuke and comparisons with abuses committed during the civil rights movement in the US.

Hun Sen yesterday went on to compare the eight-month lockdown of Freedom Park, Phnom Penh’s designated protest space, with the curfew imposed on Ferguson after the governor declared a state of emergency.

The premier reasoned that Freedom Park is just a small area that was closed temporarily because of unrest, while in Ferguson an entire town was put into lockdown between midnight and 5am.

While government investigations into the fatal violence of early January – when government forces opened fire at striking garment workers, killing at least five – and other clashes had been cited repeatedly as the reason for the park’s closure, results of any probe have remained elusive since the razor wire came down.

Meach Sovannara, a Cambodia National Rescue Party member and Cambodian-American citizen, told the Post that Hun Sen was lying to the country and making unfair comparisons.

“He told [his] citizens a lie. Speaking of the law, in America, people are given rights to hold demonstrations.” Sovannara said.

Ou Virak, chairman of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said he agreed that the US government is “no angel”, but said this does not justify the actions of Hun Sen’s forces.

“The US needs to clean up its act too, [but] that doesn’t mean that the crackdowns here were OK,” he said.

PHNOM PENH— Local NGOs are urging the new National Assembly to pass term limits for the prime minister, to prevent a “dictatorship” in Cambodia.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia in some capacity for 30 years, but following discussions in Phnom Penh, rights groups and development NGOs say that his position should only be held a maximum 10 years.

Ny Chakrya, lead monitor at the rights group Adhoc, said a limitation mandate would help avoid nepotism and dictatorship.

The call comes as the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party has joined the National Assembly, with 55 of 123 seats.

Kem Ley, an independent political analyst, said limitations on power could reduce the risk of state unrest, such as a coup d’etat.

A term limit could also help Cambodia reduce corruption and power-abuse, said Ros Sopheap, deputy chair of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics.

A blustery Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday used a speech at a National Fish Day event to lash out against the opposition CNRP, comparing the party to the mafia and suggesting it create its own country “on the moon.”

Just before helping release thousands of baby fish into Kdol Lake in Kompong Chhnang province, the prime minister—as usual not naming the party directly—accused the CNRP of trying to dictate terms in ongoing negotiations to break the political stalemate since last year’s national elections, even after losing the poll.

Mr. Hun Sen and his long-ruling CPP officially won the elections, though the CNRP accuses the CPP of cheating its way to a win. The opposition has been refusing to take its 55 seats in the 123-seat National Assembly ever since, and negotiations to reach a power-sharing and election reform deal have been fruitless.

The latest snag has been the opposition’s demand that all future appointments to the highly politicized National Election Committee, which is controlled by officials aligned with the CPP, be approved by a two-thirds vote of the National Assembly. Mr. Hun Sen said again Tuesday that the demand was out of the question.

“We still leave the gate open to negotiate, but you are not to talk about two thirds,” he said. “You said if you do not get the two-thirds, you will not join [the Assembly]. I do not mind. Still you have not joined and I have not yet died, and the Cambodian people have not yet died. You do like the leaders of the mafia—you get the votes, you lose, and then you try to force us to follow you.”

Mr. Hun Sen said a two-thirds rule would only lead to more deadlock and “kill democracy in Cambodia.” The opposition insists it is the only way to ensure that the CPP does not continue to control the electoral system.

In recent weeks, Mr. Hun Sen has conceded to the opposition’s request for a television station to counter the CPP bias of most current broadcasters. The CNRP quickly dismissed this as a minor concession, and said it would have to be part of a package of far more extensive reforms.

“Now they say they don’t want it,” Mr. Hun Sen retorted Tuesday, “so you can go to create a state on the moon.”

The prime minister then issued something of a warning, saying the CPP was now lifting a self-imposed ban on its supporters against demonstrating, to match the CNRP’s own penchant for protests.

“Before I banned, but now I don’t,” he said, without elaborating.

The government banned protests in early January. The ban followed a series of CNRP marches around the city calling on Mr. Hun Sen to step down, and garment-sector demonstrations—some of which turned violent—calling for higher wages. The CNRP had endorsed the call for higher wages.

Citing unspecified reports, the prime minister also denied that the government was running short on funds to pay its civil servants and that foreign aid, whether grants or loans, had ever been used to cover public sector salaries.

“They thought we have used foreign aid to pay salaries,” he said. “In our life, we have never received foreign aid to spend on salaries, and there has been no country that gave us aid to spend on salaries.”

In fact, foreign donors had for a few years provided funds to supplement the salaries of some civil servants working on donor-funded projects, as a way to combat corruption and discourage them from skipping hours for more lucrative second or third jobs in the private sector.

According to those familiar with the effort, however, the supplements were discontinued because of infighting among government officials over how the extra pay was being divvied up.

Commerce Minister Vows ‘Meaningful’ Reforms to US Investors [Cambodia needs democracy, not more of the same empty pledges]

Cambodia's commerce minister Sun Chanthol delivers a keynote speech titled “Economic Reforms in Cambodia” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C, Monday, June 23, 2014, at the conclusion of a one-week trade mission in the United States that also took him to Los Angeles and Seattle. (Courtesy of Cambodia Ministry of Commerce)

Sophat Soeung,

VOA Khmer

25 June 2014

WASHINGTON —

Cambodian Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol concluded a trade mission in the United States this week, emphasizing his government’s willingness to make “deep” reforms to improve its investment climate.

The minister made those comments at a presentation on Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, at the conclusion of a one-week trade mission that also took him to Los Angeles and Seattle.

“We carry out these reforms to help investors so that there will be less informal costs, less transportation costs, less energy costs, and [we will] train our people to have better skills,” he said.

Sun Chanthol admitted that the new-found political will is due to last year’s general election.

“If we want to win the election in 2018, to be relevant, you stick to your reform agenda and do it quickly, do it fast,” he said. “If not, you will not be there. That’s why we understand that we must reform. Without reform, we are going to have a problem in 2018.”

During the July 2013 election, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party saw a significant drop in parliament seats, from 90 to 68. A public opinion survey conducted by the International Republican Institute after the election found a significant drop in public optimism about the country’s direction. The most-cited reasons were corruption, nepotism and damage to the environment.

Cambodia meanwhile needs more foreign investment to create jobs for the 300,000 young Cambodians who enter the job market every year and to help ready itself for the Asean economic integration at the end of 2015.

Read more »

“If we want to win the election in 2018, to be relevant, you stick to your reform agenda and do it quickly, do it fast,” he said. “If not, you will not be there. That’s why we understand that we must reform. Without reform, we are going to have a problem in 2018.”

However, the premier tempered the concessions with sharply worded threats to both Cambodia National Rescue Party leadership and those who would join any grassroots-level demonstrations, saying to those who may plan to come out, “be careful of death”.

PHNOM PENH, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated Tuesday that there would be no reelection as demanded by the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party ( CNRP).

"Don't hope for a re-vote before 2018," he said during a visit to disabled people living in Southwestern Kampot province. "You join the National Assembly or not, it's up to you. I will continue to lead the government until the next general election in July 2018."

Meanwhile, the prime minister said that if the CNRP joined the parliament, he would approve the opposition's requests for a TV station and defining the National Election Committee in the Constitution.

He warned that if the opposition wanted to stage a coup, the government would spend only 48 hours to smash them.

"What I'm telling is true," he said. "Don't try to do it in Cambodia after you have seen it happened in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Thailand."

Hun Sen also warned foreigners not to interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs.

Political dispute between the prime minister's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the CNRP has simmered since July last year when the results of a general election showed that the CPP won 68 parliamentary seats against 55 seats for the CNRP.

The CNRP has refused to accept the election outcome it says was marred by fraud, and it has boycotted parliament to demand an early election.

"I'm the only person who can order all types of armed forces," the prime minister said. "If I really die, you must pack your bags and run away or you may die of any incidents because no one can control the armed forces."

Cambodian PM says he was meeting with king amid rumors of his severe illness

English.news.cn 2014-06-10 15:00:15

PHNOM PENH, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that he was meeting with King Norodom Sihamoni and then playing golf as rumors that he suffered a severe stroke had been spread on social media.

"On Friday afternoon, I, along with cabinet members, was having a meeting with King Norodom Sihamoni, and then I played golf on Saturday and Sunday," the prime minister said during a visit to people with disabilities living in Southwestern Kampot province.

Hun Sen's remarks came after rumors across social media on Sunday that he had a massive stroke on Friday afternoon and had been rushed to Calmette Hospital before being sent to Singapore for medical treatment.

"Don't expect to see Hun Sen's death, it is not easy," he said.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen warned that if he really passed away, opposition leaders might not survive because no one could control the armed forces.

"I'm the only person who can order all types of armed forces," the prime minister said. "If I really die, you must pack your bags and run away or you may die of any incidents because no one can control the armed forces."

Hun Sen said his presence was very important to stabilize the current situation in Cambodia.

Cambodia remains trapped in political row after the election results in July last year showed that Hun Sen's party won 68 parliamentary seats and the opposition, led by Sam Rainsy, got the remaining 55 seats.

The opposition has refused to accept the election outcome it says was marred by fraud, and it has boycotted parliament to demand an early election.

Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy had met three times in an attempt to resolve the dispute, but their talks produced no fruitful results. Their last contact was a telephone conversation in April.

Senior officials and sources close to Prime Minister Hun Sen vigorously denied rumors Sunday that he had suffered a severe stroke and been rushed for treatment in Singapore.

Rumors drew steam across social media Sunday, with users passing along reports that Mr. Hun Sen experienced a massive stroke on Friday afternoon and had been rushed to Calmette Hospital before being sent to Singapore for further medical treatment.

“It’s not true and he is just relaxing in Phnom Penh,” said Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. “It is just a rumor. He is OK and he continues his activity as normal.”

Asked why the Council of Ministers did not convene a weekly Cabinet meeting on Friday, Mr. Siphan said government ministers had nothing to talk about.

“We had nothing to review,” he said. “The proposed laws have been reviewed.”

Chhuor Kimny, border police chief at the Phnom Penh International Airport, said the prime minister had not passed through the airport’s gates all weekend.

“No highranking official has flown to Singapore for medical treatment,” he said.

Several members of the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit, who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media, similarly denied the rumors.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, however, insisted that the information was on good authority.

“It is reported that he is very ill and went to Singapore,” he said. “He had a massive stroke. He went to Calmette on Friday and then to Singapore.”

Asked the source of his information, Mr. Rainsy said: “Internal sources in the CPP. And now it is being said online.”

Plans to commemorate 65 years since France recognised formerly Kampuchea Krom provinces as part of Vietnam were scaled back by City Hall yesterday.

Representatives of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community (KKKC) were told that plans to hold a public forum on Wednesday had been rejected, while approval was granted for a ceremony at Samaki Rainsey pagoda in Meanchey district.

“We will not allow them to hold the public forum, because we know that if we cannot control it well, it will incite people to hate other races and neighbouring countries,” City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche told the Post.

During the ceremony at Samaki Rainsey pagoda, a symbolic offering of food will be made to 1,949 monks to mark the 1949 anniversary.

City Hall will reconsider allowing the KKKC to hold the public forum, which stood to draw 2,000 attendants, at a later date, officials said following the meeting.

KKKC president Thach Setha said he had agreed to the restrictions, but felt the ban violated freedom of expression.

“They are afraid of us attacking [Vietnam], that’s why they do not allow it; that is silencing our rights. Cambodia does not have full independence, because we are afraid of yuon,” he said, using a term considered by some to be derogatory towards Vietnamese people.

Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Minority Rights Organization, said the anniversary is “important not only for Khmer Krom but for Khmer”.

“People living over there [are now considered] indigenous and face persecution . . . [But] the Cambodian government does not pay much attention to supporting them.”

Chanrith, whose group will be monitoring the anniversary events, said that he is worried that if the restrictions are not abided by, “police or military police [will be sent in] to

block them”.

According to a letter to Setha on May 27 signed by Deputy Prime Minister Kong Sam Ol, this year’s ceremony will be attended by Samdech Sisowath Pongneary Monypong, minister of the Royal Palace.